Packaging manufacturer BPI cuts waste by one third

Polythene maker BPI Group has announced that it has cut its packaging waste by one third in the past six years.

BPI recycling machine processing waste polythene

The 33.4% reduction since 2008 was measured as part of BPI's on-going commitment to cutting the levels of waste generated by its manufacturing operations.

BPI achieved the saving partly by minimising the amount of material used to package its own products - by the equivalent of 25,000 tonnes in the past three years on a like-for-like basis.

BPI has also reduced waste by down-gauging the packaging it converted for its customers but only when this was possible without resulting in increased product spoilage.

In 2013, BPI used and converted the least amount of packaging since the company's records began by replacing single-use packaging with reusable packaging. In addition, BPI stated that two of its sites achieved zero waste to landfill.

BPI group energy manager John Haddow said: "We're extremely proud to have cut waste so significantly in the past six years. It wasn't easy to achieve this milestone figure but it's a testament to the commitment to innovation and sustainability that runs through our business that we were able to do so.

"We won't be resting on our laurels and will continue to look for ways to cut our packaging waste further in the coming years."

Elsewhere, BPI announced that its subsidiary, bpi.recycled products, recycles up to 70,000 tonnes of waste polythene every year as part of a closed loop recycling system, which saves it from being sent to landfill. The polythene is cleaned and turned into pellets, which can be used to create products, such as recycling and refuse sacks.